UCI Med Students Get Google Glass

The University of California-Irvine School of Medicine said it is integrating Google Glass into its four-year curriculum, becoming the first in the nation to do so.

“I believe digital technology will let us bring a more impactful and relevant clinical learning experience to our students,” Ralph Clayman, the school’s dean of medicine said in a news release.

The program starts this month with third- and fourth-year students who will get 10 pairs of Glass for use during hospital rotations. An additional 20 to 30 pairs will be used to transmit “real-time patient-physician encounters,” giving first- and second-year students a first-person perspective during lectures.

Faculty members also will be able to see what students are seeing when they are wearing the device, and help better guide their dissection or simulation exercises.

“The most promising part is having patients wear Glass so that our students can view themselves through the patients’ eyes, experience patient care from the patients’ perspective, and learn from that information to become more empathic and engaging physicians,” said Warren Wiechmann, assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine and associate dean of instructional technologies, who will oversee implementation of the program.

The medical school has 416 students. The devices, which cost about $1,500, were donated to the school. They will be a part of the school’s iMedEd Initiative which provides an iPad filled with electronic medical texts, podcasts, reference materials and notes for all course work and clinical experiences to every medical school student.